NEW BEGINNING

Prologue: My YoYo Weight

The following was written in 1997.

I have been a yoyo dieter all my life it seems. I have lost and gained back 40 pounds or so at least half a dozen times in my life. In April, 1996, my weight was hovering around 230 pounds which was more than I had ever weighed. I had been promising my daughter, Amy, I would get my cholesterol checked and get my weight under control. I get an annual physical examination where I work and I had decided I would take those results to a private physician and get his advice. So, on April 12, 1996, I went to the doctor!

I knew my cholesterol would be high. I knew my blood pressure was not low anymore. I knew there was a history of diabetes and gout in my family. So, why did I come out of that Doctor's office and immediately lose from 232 pounds to 180 in about 12 weeks? I have asked myself the same question and the answer I come up with is that he did not dwell on the risk of a heart attack so much as he talked about "pain". "Do you know how much a heart attack hurts?", he asked."Do you know how painful diabetes and gout are? Do you want to go through your 60's racked with pain or do you want to lose this weight, eat the right things and get in shape and enjoy a pain-free healthy 60's?" It seemed like an easy answer. "No fat, no sugar, and only six ounces of meat a day", he said.

Basically, that's what I did plus I started walking every day. Walking is the greatest thing to get into shape when you are terribly out of shape. It works because you naturally tend to walk faster and farther and take more hills as you get in better shape.I have found I have to be real strict with myself when I am trying to lose weight. I can't have just one of this and a thin slice of that . I have to have none, zero, zip. I have to at least be true to myself about what goes into my mouth. It is a whole lifestyle that has to change.

I am determined that I will not let my weight get out of control again but I know it will not be easy. But I just have to remember how much I hate pain.

And now as Paul Harvey says, The Rest of the Story.

Ten Years Later in 2007

Did I maintain a healthy weight? Did I maintain a heart-healthy diet? Have I avoided painful health problems in my 60's? The answers to all the above is no. I did for awhile. I was walking a minimum of a mile per day. I was maintaining my weight. But the eating habits reverted to one less strict than needed for a healthy heart. My excuse for gaining the weight back was hernia surgery. I was unable to continue my walking after the surgery. I gained about ten pounds during my recovery. But I never got back to walking religiously every day and gradually gained weight back to around 215.

My doctor continued to urge me to get back into shape and eat better. I promised that I would over and over but somehow, I just never found the discipline to do it again. In March 2005, my blood sugar readings crossed the line from borderline diabetic to diabetic. I started taking daily blood sugar tests and diabetes medicine every day. I improved my eating habits somewhat and maintained a weight closer to 205 or so.

Somewhere along the line, my doctor recommended that I have a Lifetest Cardiac Scan performed. Finally in March 2007, I promised him I would get one. I had it done on June 11, 2007. This test indicated that I had plaque buildup in my coronary arteries greater than 95% of the people who have taken the test. I could tell he was very concerned. He increased some of my medication and recommended I see a cardiologist. The cardiologist performed a stress test and this indicated that I probably had some blockage. I had never had any chest pains but over the years, I had slowed down considerably and worked in shorter segments. I attributed this mostly to a side affect of medication but the cardiologist said this lack of stamina could be an indication of a blockage.

So he said I needed a cardiac catherization to determine what was going on. He talked of my possibly needing a stent or maybe simply more aggressive medication. He referred me to a COURAGE trial which addressed the benefits of stents vs medication. So, I went into the cardiac catherization on Friday, Aug 10, 2007 thinking I might possibly need a stent but hoping that I could be treated with medication.

I was awake through the catherization procedure but could not see the monitor all the time. When It was completed, I asked the doctor if I he had found any blockages. He told me, "You are going to have to have three or four bypasses and we will do it on Monday. I will go discuss it with your wife right now." What a shock! He explained to my wife that I had blockage of the type known as the "widow maker". Persons who are seemingly healthy as a horse and suddenly drop dead are found to have blockages in the area where mine was located.

I had triple coronary artery bypass surgery on Monday, Aug. 13, 2007. As I write this, I am now two weeks into my recovery. Will I get into shape and maintain a healthy weight? Will I stick to a heart-healthy diet? I know I do not want to go through another open heart surgery. All I can say is that if I do not, then I will truly be stupid. I want to pass on a couple of remarks from nurses who cared for me. As I discussed my diet for the past few years and my diabetes, she said, "You need to take your diabetes more seriously." As I discussed with another how I had never had any chest pains or any overt warnings of any problem, she said, "People think pain is their enemy. But pain is your friend as it gives a warning and gets them to have tests done."

What am I going to do with this new lease on life, my new beginning? I may be lead to something more in the future. I am thankful to be alive. I know that we are not guaranteed a tomorrow. But for right now, all I can think of is that I want to be the best husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle and friend that I can possibly be. I thank my doctor for convincing me to take the Lifescan test. I thank all the doctors, nurses and other medical center staff who cared for me. I thank my wife, daughters and other family and friends for their prayers and support through this. And I thank God for my new beginning.

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